Machinery
by PepperedMint
Summary: Hiccup, the heir to the throne, always sneaked out of the palace to work at his mechanic's booth in the city. Unbeknownst to anyone, he fixed people's machines while trying to figure out how to make his father proud of him. After failing multiple times, he gave up and worked as a regular mechanic. That was, until he met Astrid.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon or any of its characters in any way, shape, or form.**

**Chapter 1**

Hiccup yanked off his prosthetic foot, and put it on his desk to examine. It was made out of titanium, so it wouldn't weigh him down too much or rust. When you looked at it closer, you could see the crest of the Berk royal family, marked on both sides of the foot. On the bottom, it said 'If found, please return to the Berk Royal Palace', so even if someone didn't recognize the crest would know who he was if he ever accidentally left it somewhere (it started to get uncomfortable at times, so he often took it off when sitting). Hiccup sighed, resting his head down on the table. If someone saw that he had that foot, they would find out what he truly was. Their useless heir to the throne, Henry Haddock III. A boy who couldn't ever become what his father was, and doomed to endless teasing and bullying by all the other kids his age. People around him in the marketplace didn't know that, though. To them, he was a common boy who had a knack for working with mechanics and engineering, with a strange name. Hiccup called himself 'Hiccup' here, because he once heard his father talking to one of his friends, Gobber, calling him a "hiccup", and a "mistake". To prove that he could actually do something with himself, Hiccup took upon that name, but whenever he tried to talk about his skills with his father, he would just brush him off, saying "he had important things to attend to." Stoick the Vast, a great leader in these times. He led well and won many battles, but Hiccup always thought him to be impatient and had a bad habit of only listening to himself while speaking.

Not many people really knew what Hiccup looked like, which made it easier for him to sneak out and go to his mechanics booth almost every day. When at the palace, Hiccup always stayed in his room, and only got out to go down to the kitchen to get food. The only people who really saw him were the servants and Gobber, his father's best friend. Hiccup himself didn't have any friends, other than his cat, Toothless. When going down to his mechanic stall, he would often put Toothless in his hood, making sure that he wouldn't get into trouble if he were left alone in the palace.

People would often come up to his booth with a broken item or something he could upgrade, and ask Hiccup to fix or upgrade them, as he was well known around there for being one of the best mechanics in the city. Nobody knew who he really was, and he planned to keep it that way. Thankfully, his father nor any of the servants ever came out to his stall, for they always just hired someone to come to the palace and repair whatever needed fixing inside. Hiccup's mother had disappeared when he was younger, and many people assumed she was dead. Hiccup never knew his mother though, for he was only a few months old when she left, so he didn't miss her very much.

Hiccup spun around on his chair, having nothing to do. Toothless jumped up on his lap, kneading Hiccup's legs and Hiccup had to pull him up so that he wouldn't get scratched. Toothless squirmed out of his grip and curled up on his lap, purring contentedly, his black fur around his belly slowly rising up and down as he breathed. Hiccup had found Toothless on the streets a while ago, a small kitten abandoned by his mother, slowly starving to death. Hiccup had taken Toothless into his care, and made sure he got healthy. His teeth grew in later than usual though, getting the name 'Toothless' from it. Nobody else knew about him though, and Hiccup had to keep him in his room or in the workshop all the time, since his father didn't like animals.

The booth was quite big, as Hiccup had a surplus amount of money so he could buy whichever place he wanted. It wasn't big enough to attract too much attention though, and was more like a garage, with a bathroom in the back and a large main room with a mostly open door, so that Hiccup could always watch what was happening in front of the store, and so people could come to request his services. He didn't charge much for his repairs, since he didn't need the money, but he didn't want people to get suspicious with free repairs and upgrades. He was facing the back wall, looking at the shelves seeing if there was something he could occupy himself with, when he hear someone clearing their throat behind him. Quickly spinning around, he saw a young lady standing there, looking at him expectantly. She was about as tall as him, and looked around 16 years old, which was how old he was. She had blond hair done in a side braid, going down a bit past shoulder length and bright blue eyes that he couldn't stop looking at. She was wearing a light blue sweatshirt, black jeans, and was carrying a messenger bag. His eyes immediately darted to his desk, where his prosthetic was currently sitting. She hadn't seemed to notice it yet for his desk was so cluttered, so he darted his hand out to grab it, and dropped it behind his chair, earning a suspicious look from the girl.

"Um... Can I help you?" He asked, slightly stuttering. _Great job, already messing up, _he thought to himself, mentally smacking himself in his head. She looked at him for a few seconds as if she were wondering if this was worth her time, then pulled out a new looking laptop out of her bag.

"Yeah. I've been having some problems with my computer. It's been freezing and crashing a lot lately." She said, still not breaking eye contact with him.

"Well, that's not actually what I do here…" Hiccup replied, breaking eye contact and looking a bit to the side.

"Your sign says "Mechanic and Engineering", so can't you?" She says, expectantly. Hiccup slightly blushed, and almost told her that's not _exactly_ what engineering means, but decided against it since he did know the basics on how to fix computers (or at least he could search them up, right?).

"Oh! Um, yeah, I can try to fix it… Ok, when do you need it back by?" He asked.

She thought for a second, then replied with "Anytime you can finish it by, but preferably soon. How much will it be?"

"Ok, I will probably be done with it by tomorrow, if you want to come by sometime then. And… it'll cost 120 NOK (Norwegian Krone, and it's about $15 USD)" He replied, coming up with a cheap price on the spot.

"120? Wow, that's cheap. Thanks, I'll be by tomorrow then probably!" She said, turning around to leave.

"Ok, um… Can I have your name?" Hiccup asked, stuttering "you know… for when you pick it up?" He quickly added. She half smiled-half smirked back at him, and said

"I don't think you're going to forget."

**And that is the end of chapter one! A follow, favourite, or review is very much appreciated, thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon or any of its characters in any way, shape, or form.**

**Chapter 2**

Sighing, Hiccup lay on his plush, four-poster king sized bed, staring at his silver plated watch. He watched as the gears slowly moved behind the arms, but didn't pay much attention to anything. Groaning, he saw that it was already 9:00 am, and he not-so-gracefully rolled over and off of the bed, letting out an 'oomph' as he hit the floor. Strapping on his prosthetic, he walked up to the full length mirror on the wall. He was wearing a long green nightgown, and his medium-length brown hair was a mess. Trying to tame his hair a bit with his fingers, Hiccup slowly walked out his bedroom door to go get breakfast.

The walk down was always the same every day. He walked down the hallway and large staircase, occasionally seeing a servant who would politely bow in front of him, no matter how many times Hiccup told them not to. He would then walk down to the dining room, where there would be large platters full of breakfast foods, where Hiccup would just grab a plate and fill it up then leave, not letting any of the servants assist him. Every once in a while, he would see his father and they would usually just say "good morning" to each other or something to that effect, and would not talk much more than that. Hiccup then quickly walked back to his room, and eat while on the computer, or looking at new designs and ideas for projects he wanted to start. This time though, he pulled out the computer that he got from the girl yesterday. Usually, he didn't bring home whatever he was working on, just in case somebody say it and also because he didn't have his tools there, but this one was an exception. He had fixed it without too much trouble, and it only took a few minutes of searching up what to do. Opening the lid, he saw that it was stuck on the guest account, a feature which happens when the main user can make it so that nobody can get to their personal account but them, but all of the programs are loaded onto the guest account too. This way, Hiccup could still fix the problem, but still wasn't able to see what the girl's name was. There really wasn't anything that he could do on the computer that he couldn't do on his own, so he closed it and put it back in his bag.

A while ago, Hiccup found a secret network of tunnels connecting many of the rooms in the palace together. Finding one in his room, Hiccup always used it to get out of the castle unnoticed. Pulling on a green hoodie and brown jeans and stuffing Toothless in his hoodie pouch, Hiccup slung his backpack over his shoulder and crouched down to his wall to get through the tunnel. Hiccup knew the way out quite well, and knew every turn he had to make to get to the back exit. After a few minutes of walking through with a flashlight, he finally made it out, and took in a large breath, not having to breath in the stale, musty air anymore. Walking through the more empty streets to not attract too much attention, Hiccup walked a couple of blocks until he reached the street his shop was on. Taking out his keys and unlocking the garage door, Hiccup pulled it up and went inside, flipping over his 'Open" sign. It was now 10:00 am, the time he usually got to the shop. Occasionally, he wouldn't be able to come to the booth if he had an unexpected meeting or party to attend, but any other time he could usually sneak out. But for this reason, he didn't have a schedule so you would have to come and check if the shop was open instead of already knowing.

Letting Toothless out, the cat sat down and immediately started licking himself to make whatever fur was mussed up in the journey sit flat again. Resting his backpack next to his desk, Hiccup walked over to the back wall, pulling some tools off of the wall, and bringing them back to the table. Sitting down, he pulled open a drawer and brought out a small, metal, figure. It didn't look like much yet, a small metal head, body, and one wing. Reaching back in, Hiccup pulled out some more parts. There were 4 legs, and the beginnings of a second wing. Pulling out more metal and some tools, Hiccup started working more on the second wing of the dragon. Hiccup had always loved the idea of dragons, and always drew them when he was younger. A few months ago, he started building a small model that would flap its wings when the tail was pushed down. Hunched over his work, Hiccup didn't realize he was working for so long that he had started to get hungry. Leaving his work, Hiccup walked over to the small fridge that he had in one corner of the room. Pulling out a sandwich, he walked back over and cleared out the middle section of the desk so he wouldn't get crumbs in any small machines. It was now 12:00 pm, so there were more people out on the street going to get food. He watched the cars as they drove past the shop, not bothering to slow and look around. Nobody had come to the booth today, which was slightly irregular having it be noon and during summer break, but there were always some days where there were no customers. Little kids were running around near where he was, laughing and being noisy. Hiccup sometimes wished he could just be a normal kid, having no parent issues and being able to do whatever you wanted. Luckily though, his father never really cared enough to send personal guards with Hiccup wherever he went, so he could easily leave almost any time he wanted.

Starting to get drowsy, Hiccup put his head and arms on his desk, putting away his dragon. He was just planning on resting his eyes for a few seconds, but he quickly dozed off, leaving all of his problems in the real world.

**Authors note: Thanks everyone who has favourited and followed this story! I hope to update at least once a week. Suggestions on what you want to happen in the future chapters are very appreciated, thanks! (Also, this is the second attempt at uploading, I don't know why it combined into one paragraph before)**

**A follow, favourite, or review is very much appreciated, thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon or any of its characters in any way, shape, or form.**

**Chapter 3**

Hiccup woke up with a start, feeling a light tapping on his shoulder. Quickly looking up, he saw that he was looking right into familiar, bright blue eyes. Startled, he jumped back a bit, and took in his surroundings. He must have dozed off, and he quickly checked to see if everything was still there.

Thankfully, it was. Looking back up, he saw the girl from the other day in front of him.

"Oh! Uh, hi!" Hiccup stammered, still a bit startled. The girl sheepishly smiled, saying,

"Sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you, but…" She trailed off, looking slightly above his head.

"No! Sorry, I guess I just got a bit tired, and… So, you came for your computer?" Hiccup said, collecting himself again.

"Yeah, did you fix it?" She asked.

Nodding, he answered, "Yeah, I did. Here, you can take it now." Leaning over, Hiccup grabbed his bag and pulled out her laptop. Handing it over, she took it and put it in her bag, giving him his payment.

"Thanks. Oh, and my name's Astrid." Astrid said, sticking out her hand. Hiccup shook it and replied with

"Hiccup. I know, it's a bad name, but it's not the worst." he said, trying to justify why he called himself 'Hiccup'.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Hiccup." Astrid smiled, then walked away. taking her laptop with her. Not thinking much about the encounter, Hiccup leaned over again.

Getting back to work, Hiccup thought about what had led him up to getting this job. His father had never really noticed him and they hadn't had a real conversation in a while, so Hiccup thought that if he could prove to his father that he could do something and wasn't useless, his father would be more proud of him. After building a few things in his booth, Hiccup had tried to show his father, but every time he would just brush him off, never paying attention to Hiccup. After a few months, Hiccup eventually gave up, and spent all of his time at the stall.

Twirling his pencil in his left hand, Hiccup sat back in his chair, lost in thought. Toothless came up to him and jumped on the desk, laying down in the sunlight. Hiccup watched him as he curled up, wishing that he too, were a cat. Having no worries or expectations, just being able to sleep all day. At least he wasn't still stuck in the palace all of the time, never having much to do. Hiccup had bought the shop two years ago, and had gone almost every day since.

Still thinking, Hiccup almost missed the little girl who had come up to his stall, with a little toy robot in her hand.

"Hello." Hiccup said, looking at the girl "How may I help you?" Smiling at the girl, she put her toy on the desk.

"Can you… can you fix this for me?" She timidly asked, not looking at him in the eyes.

"Sure, what's wrong with it?" Hiccup asked, still smiling.

The girl shuffled her feet a bit, saying "The key isn't turning, it won't move." She put the key on the desk, next to the robot.

"Yeah, I can fix it. Come back in about an hour, and it'll be done."

The little girl walked away, and Hiccup pulled the toy in front of him.

It was quite simple, really. Hiccup worked on many more complicated things that this usually, but there were still a lot of children who needed a toy to be fixed. Unscrewing the back, Hiccup fixed the stuck pieces, taking his time. He didn't have any other things to do at the moment, for he had already finished them earlier. He was quite skilled working with machinery, and could always fix complex problems fairly quickly.

After Hiccup finished fixing the robot, he pulled out his mechanical dragon again. After working on it for a while and getting more small repairs, Hiccup eventually called it a day. It was about 8:00, and it was when he usually went back to the castle. Packing up his bag and grabbing Toothless, Hiccup locked the doors behind him and made his way back home.

He worked in a fairly popular marketplace, and he often liked to look in the shops and buy snacks from the other stalls. The streetlights were illuminating the sidewalk, since the sun had already gone down not too long before. Most of the other shops were closed, but the restaurants and café's were all mostly still open. Hiccup looked in some of them, seeing a bunch of young and old couples there for dinner together. Hiccup had never been in a relationship before - heck, he had never even had a real friend.

Sighing, he kept on walking down the street, kicking loose rocks. After walking for a bit, he got out of the marketplace. Around him now were a bunch of apartment buildings, towering high above him, the light from inside the rooms shining through the windows. He could see families watching television, all sitting together on a couch. Looking back at his feet, Hiccup put his hands into his pocket, where he pet Toothless.

Hiccup usually rode a bike but he was currently fixing it, because some of the gears had broken. Until he fixed it, he had to walk to and from the booth everyday. It took him about 30 minutes to walk there and back, but since Hiccup was never needed anywhere, he didn't have to travel fast.

Making his way to the back of the palace, Hiccup took out an old key from his pocket, one that unlocked an old and unused gate in the back. Nobody even knew the gate existed anymore, so he never had any trouble sneaking in and out. Unlocking the door that led into the tunnels, he slid through and made his way to his bedroom.

Once getting there, Toothless jumped out of his pocket and sat on his bed. The maids that came to clean Hiccup's room knew about Toothless, but Hiccup had told them not to tell anyone else, especially his father. Luckily, they agreed and Stoick had never found out. Changing into his regular clothes, Hiccup went to his bathroom to clean up. It was a large washroom, and had plenty of space for his and Toothless' things. Taking a shower, Hiccup then walked down to the dining hall to get some dinner.

Walking through the hallways, Hiccup was almost at the dining hall when he heard a bit of noise coming from one of the rooms where they had some of their more expensive decorations. Curious, he slowly peeked his head around the door, which was slightly ajar. When he looked through, he saw a group of men in red leather jackets and black pants, grabbing things and putting them in their sacs that they carried. They were all wearing red, dragon-esque hats, with red face paint and sunglasses that covered their eyes, so they weren't recognizable.

Panicked, Hiccup quickly ran away, tripping over himself as he tried to find someone. After a minute, he saw a guard and hurriedly told him that there was a robbery happening. The guard immediately gathered more guards and they rushed into the room where Hiccup saw the thieves in. One there, though, all they saw was the torn apart room, bare of any decorations. Whatever wasn't stolen was broken, and the tapestries on the walls were torn. Looking up at one of the higher windows, they saw the last of the thieves leave.

The man was obviously the leader of the group, and he wasn't wearing sunglasses. Seeing Hiccup and the guards look at him, the man smirked and winked, then was pulled out of the window.

**A follow, favourite, or review is very much appreciated, thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon or any of its characters in any way, shape, or form.**

**Chapter 4**

Hiccup awkwardly stood across from his father with some guards. Off to the side, Hiccup watched as his father angrily spoke.

"What were you guards doing? You should have kept better watch outside! We can't let petty thieves come and go whenever they like, or threaten the royal family!" Stoick bellowed, frustrated.

Right… Something you probably need to know, is that Hiccup's father is the King of this country, and that makes Hiccup, well, the prince. Part of the reason why his father always seems so disappointed in him all the time is because he's the heir to the throne, and isn't exactly "textbook" prince material. He hid it from everyone whilst at his booth, since he didn't want to be caught or treated differently just because he lived in a castle.

After yelling at the guards some more, his father turned to Hiccup.

"And you! What were you doing out there? You could've gotten killed, or taken hostage! Oh, of all the stupid things…" He trailed off, slightly shaking his head. Not getting a chance to speak, Stoick said, annoyed,

"Go on now. Off to your room." Hiccup scurried off, passing through the dining hall to grab some dinner then up to his chambers. Sitting at his desk and eating, Hiccup thought about what was now going to happen with the security. There will most likely be more guards everywhere, and probably at the back where he used to sneak out of. That left him with a difficult situation. How was he now going to sneak out easily? Also, if the thieves were still out there, what if they saw him and found out his secret identity? After thinking for a while, Hiccup didn't have many ideas on how to keep leaving the castle. He decided that, for a few days, he wouldn't go to his stall. Maybe in a bit, the guards won't be as careful about everything they do, and Hiccup will be able to leave easier.

Starting to get curious about who the men wearing red were, Hiccup did a bit of research on them. Searching 'Berk group red thieves', Hiccup scrolled through a few results until he found something that piqued his interest. Clicking on the link, Hiccup was then led to a blog about the thieves. They had supposedly been around Berk for a few months hanging around the big city and causing havoc every once in a while. This robbery had been the biggest one yet, with the palace being the largest and most wealthy building in the country. It was an anonymous blog, so he couldn't find out who was writing these. The group didn't have a name yet, or it hadn't yet been found out.

He tried to look more into them, but there was no more information to be found. They had covered their tracks very well, and none of their identities were known. Sighing, he looked out of his window, only to see guards around where he usually escaped.

Putting on his headphones, Hiccup grabbed his dark brown guitar and strummed along to a song that he was listening to. Nobody knew, but he was quite good at it, and often hummed along to the tune. Hiccup usually kept a guitar in his room and at his workshop, for when he got bored.

After playing for about an hour, Hiccup put down his guitar and stared out of the window. He watched as young children played around in the square with their parents and friends. All of them looked so happy and carefree, and he envied them more than they could imagine. Nobody knew about the lonely prince, whose father never bothered to look or have a real conversation with him. Everyone always thought that being royalty would be great, and they would be able to do and have whatever they want. Little did they know, was that Hiccup would trade places with one of them in an instant, even if only for a day. He wanted to know what it was like to have friends, and for people to love him. But that wouldn't happen, and Hiccup was doomed to a life of hiding in his room, with nobody ever wondering where he went every day for hours on end.

A week passed, and Hiccup was still stuck inside. The security had started to lessen, though, and Hiccup guessed that he would be able to leave soon. He felt kind of bad for leaving the stall for so long, and hoped that nobody came with something that was urgent. Sighing, he lay on his bed with Toothless curled up next to him. He hadn't done much during the past week, and mostly just spent his time on the computer or drawing.

After a few more days, Hiccup determined that it was safe enough to leave the palace. Taking his usual route out, he successfully made it out of the back exit managing to evade the guard who was at post there, although he would have to practice his stealth skill sometime soon.

Almost at his booth, Hiccup hurried to open the door. But during his rush, he hadn't paid much attention to his surroundings, and clumsily walked into a post, his metal foot emitting a loud _clang_ as metal hit metal. Surprised, Hiccup fell over, in a daze. Hearing a light laughing behind him, he rubbed his head while turning his head. Looking up, he saw Astrid slightly laughing at him, while she stuck out her hand for him to grab. Taking her hand and pulling himself up, hoping she didn't notice the sound his foot made. Hiccup stuttered, trying to think of something to say.

"Um… Ah… thanks…" He awkwardly said, letting go of her hand. "I wasn't looking where I was going…"

Astrid laughed, "That's okay," she said, "but why were you away for so long? I haven't seen you here in over a week."

Thinking of a reason, Hiccup paused for a second then said, "Oh, family… um… problems?" He said, sounding uncertain of himself. "Yeah. I had some family issues." He said again, more sure of himself that time.

"Oh, okay. Well, I'm not really doing anything right now. Can I come into your shop?" She asked, slightly suspicious, and Hiccup nodded. Leading both of them into the booth, Hiccup pulled out an extra chair for her to sit in. Before sitting down, Astrid walked around and looked at his tools and projects.

"Wow… You're really good at this stuff, aren't you?" She asked, while running her fingers over his various assortment of tools, looking at his blueprints for future projects. Scratching the back of his head and shrugging, Hiccup said,

"I guess so. I have a lot of free time, so I can come here a lot."

After looking around for a few more minutes, she sat down in the chair, watching as people walked past outside. They didn't talk much, and if they did, it was just small talk. Sitting in a comfortable silence for about 30 minutes, Astrid stood up and left, saying she had to go. Hiccup watched as she left, then started working on a few projects. After a few hours, he decided to close the booth and head home.

Hiccup easily got back into the palace, and back in his room. After going on the computer for an hour or so, he heard a knock on his door. Telling whoever was out there to come in, he was greeted by a servant who was carrying a letter.

"For you, your highness." The servant graciously said.

Hiccup nodded, excusing him. Looking at the letter in his hand, he read it.

_You're invited_

_Masquerade Ball_

_at the palace on May 10, at 7pm_

Hiccup looked at the invitation with disgust. His own father couldn't even see him for a minute to give this to him? Tossing the letter onto his desk, Hiccup lay down on his bed. This ball was an annual thing, but he never did anything at them. Mostly, he would just sit at the front of the room, blankly watching everyone as they laughed and danced. The invitation was always sent out to the wealthier parts of the city for the public, and to other countries and their royalties.

Turning off the lights so he could sleep, Hiccup thought about what the ball would be like this year. There was a week until it happened, so it gave him plenty of time for a seamstress to come in and fit him for a new suit. He had never previously worn a mask to these events before, but maybe this time he would. He would try to have more fun, and not just stand in his father's shadow the whole time, never being noticed.

Happier now, Hiccup fell asleep, awaiting the next few days.

**A follow, favourite, or review is very much appreciated, thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon or any of its characters in any way, shape, or form.**

**Chapter 5**

Arms spread out and standing up straight, Hiccup waited as the seamstress fitted him for a new suit for the masquerade ball. He was stood barefoot, and the lady could see his metal foot. Not many people knew about his missing limb, and he doubted his own father even remembered he had it. Hiccup had lost his foot in a car accident when he was younger, his foot not surviving the crash. He tried not to think about it while he was still standing there, as it always made him feel a bit sick.

His new suit was a dark green, with brown leather shoes. He didn't usually wear suits, but he thought he looked pretty good in it. He was wearing a white dress shirt, and had a black tie on. Covering his hands and just short of his elbows were long, black, silk gloves. He thought he was done and was about to leave, when the seamstress said,

"Mmm mm. It's not done yet." She went over to a dresser, and took something small off the top, bringing it over to him. Once she came closer, he realised that it was a small mask, that just covered his eyes and part of his nose. It was a light green, with hints of sparkles on the edges. Brushing away the hair that was around Hiccup's eyes, she placed the mask on his face.

He could barely feel it, and could see perfectly out of it. Smiling at his reflection, he stepped behind the screen, undressed, and put his normal clothes back on. He gave his suit and mask to the seamstress so she could make the necessary revisions, and left to go back to his room. There were three days until the ball, and Hiccup was looking forward to it more than he had done before, but he had never even looked forward to it before. The masquerade ball had been an annual thing for about thirty years now, long before Hiccup's father was the king.

Raising his right hand and looking at his watch, Hiccup saw that it was a bit too late to go to the shop, so he stayed in the castle. Bored, he headed outside to go to the castle courtyard. There weren't many people out there, maybe the occasional noble or guard. He walked over to a bench in the shade of a tree, and lay down.

* * *

"Hiccup! Wake up, you have to get ready!" There was a loud knocking on the door, and Hiccup groggily opened his eyes, and yawned.

"Yeah, I'm coming." He replied back, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he rolled out of bed. He walked over to his bathroom to get ready, Toothless weaving through his legs as he moved.

Brushing his teeth, Hiccup looked at his watch, to see that the time was 11:00 am, which was much later than when he usually woke up. Today was the day of the ball, and that's why he assumed he was woken up.

After showering, Hiccup went to his dresser to get dressed. Pulling out his suit, he admired the work some more. It was perfectly cut for him, and suited him very well. He hung it back up, and pulled out some of his regular clothes to wear before the ball.

Walking downstairs to get some food, he heard his father loudly talking to some servants about how tonight had to be _perfect_, and what they must and mustn't do. Quickly passing by the room to not attract any attention, Hiccup scurried to the dining hall, where he passed through the large kitchen and took some rolls.

Making his way back to his room, Hiccup ate his rolls while browsing the internet, passing time. Since he was needed at the palace that night, he couldn't go out to his stall. Bored, Hiccup sat in his room, not doing all too much.

* * *

Looking at himself and slightly gelling back his hair, Hiccup was finally satisfied with his appearance. He was wearing his green suit and a golden circlet, and had cleaned up rather nice. Straightening his tie, Hiccup checked the time, to see that there was thirty minutes until the doors opened. About to walk over his room, Hiccup slightly tripped over his feet whilst sharply turning around, stumbling a bit before grabbing his mask off of his dresser.

Once Hiccup walked in the ballroom, he smelled the delicious scents of all the foods and treats that were laid out on the tables. After looking at all of the decorations that were in the room, Hiccup walked over to his small throne, which was next to his father's larger one.

After waiting for a bit, the doors to the palace finally opened, letting in all of the ball attendees. Hiccup watched as they all spilled in, many coming to greet his father.

Once the majority of the people had come to see his father, Hiccup left his throne to go and see if he could meet some people.

Seeing a larger boy about his age, Hiccup walked over to him to introduce himself.

"Hello, I'm Henry. How do you do?" He somewhat awkwardly asked. Fortunately or unfortunately, the other boy didn't seem too skilled at socializing either.

"Oh! I'm good, you? I'm Fisher, but my friends call me Fishlegs." Fishlegs stuttered out, surprised that the prince was talking to him.

"Nice to meet you, Fishlegs. What brings you to the ball? I can't really see teenagers rushing to go to a super formal, fancy ball on a friday night. Not to mention, boring too." Hiccup said, slipping out of his formal speech as he became more comfortable talking to someone else his age.

"Oh, well my dad is a Duke, and I was forced to come here." He replied, and Hiccup nodded.

The two boys talked for a while, becoming friends quite easily, bonding over their geekiness together. After a few hours, Fishlegs was called by his father, and had to go talk with some people. Hiccup; happy that he made a friend, walked around alone, and watched as people danced and talked all around him.

Tired, Hiccup sat down on a chair and looked outside at the gardens. It was dark out, and he could see the garden illuminated by the small lights that hung above the path. Further out, he could see the lights coming from the city, all shining through the windows of the tall, glass, apartment buildings that made the city so popular to live in. Looking up, he saw the full moon, shining brightly that he couldn't look at it for too long.

As he looked back around the gardens, his gaze rested upon a familiar mess of blonde hair, and Hiccup took a second to realise who it belonged too.

Making sure his hair wasn't in its usual style so that he wouldn't be recognised, Hiccup stood up, and headed out to the bench the young lady was sitting on.

Walking past some older men in formal black suits and a pretty girl with auburn hair and a silver dress, Hiccup quickly greeted them and continued on his way to the bench.

Sitting next to Astrid, Hiccup lowered his voice and said nonchalantly,

"Hey, I'm Henry."

**Author's note: Sorry this is a week late! I'm trying to update every week, but I'm pretty busy with school right now, so please bear with me.**

**A follow, favourite, or review is very much appreciated, thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon or any of its characters in any way, shape, or form.**

**Chapter 6**

Hiccup tried to act cool in front of Astrid, while also making sure that she couldn't tell who he was by lowering his voice a bit. She was wearing a light blue dress, that stopped right above her knees, but she looked somewhat uncomfortable wearing it, always trying to pull in down.

Surprised that the prince was talking to her, Astrid stuttered a bit before saying her name.

"Astrid. Astrid Hofferson. Nice you meet you… um… Henry." She said while standing up to bow, before Hiccup stood too.

"No no, you don't have to bow." He said, while putting his hand on her shoulder and slightly pushing her down to sit again.

"So… What brings you out here?" Astrid asked, curious as to why the prince would leave the party, and come talk to _her, _instead of some important king or queen or something.

"I wanted to get away from all of the people. I'm not much of a party guy. Why is a lovely young lady like yourself out here, on her own?" Hiccup said, suddenly feeling like a different person, more confident in this new personality.

"Same as you, I guess. I like being out here, alone with my thoughts." She said, shifting her gaze back to the night sky, looking at the stars.

The chatted for a bit, learning things about each other. Astrid turned out to be the daughter or some noble Hiccup had never heard of, and lived near the marketplace. _No wonder she always comes to my booth_, Hiccup thought. _She just lives nearby_.

Astrid learned little things about him too, but not enough to let her know that he was the mechanic that she so often visited. She learned that he played guitar, had a cat, and liked to write in his spare time. Nothing about working with machines, or disguising himself as a commoner.

After a bit of small talk and sitting in a comfortable silence, Hiccup realised that he should probably go, since it was getting late and guests were starting to leave. Standing up, he said to Astrid.

"Well, it looks like I must take my leave now. I do believe we'll see each other again." He said, then walked away, leaving Astrid to wonder about what he meant.

**Astrid's POV**

After being somewhat shocked that the prince had just talked to her, Astrid got called by her father and was told that they were leaving now. Heading out of the palace, she glanced back at the whole building. It was very old, but every so often it would go under construction to make it more modern, and nice. It was quite large, and made of stone bricks. She could see through some of the windows which had the blinds open, and the occasional servant would walk past the window.

Turning back around, she and her father walked to their car and started driving home. During the drive, Astrid thought about what Henry had meant about seeing each other again. Something about him seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite place her finger on what it was. Brushing off the thoughts, she rested her head on her hand and watched as the car sped past the apartment buildings, everything a blur.

Once they arrived at their house, Astrid stepped out of the car and into the house. After changing clothes and getting ready for bed, she went into her room and sat at her desk. Looking out of the window, she could see the marketplace. There were some restaurants near her, and she could see into some of them, watching as people ate dinner. If she really leaned forward and craned her neck around, she could see a sliver of Hiccup's booth.

Hiccup was different than anybody she'd ever met. He worked all day, and she had never seen him in anywhere else than in his booth. She had seen him working there for a few years, but she had only recently started visiting him.

She hated to admit it, but Astrid was starting to think that she was feeling something more than friendship for Hiccup. But now, after meeting Henry, she was quite confused. Even though they had only talked for a little bit, she couldn't help but feel something for him too. Getting confused and annoyed at herself, Astrid opened the lid of her laptop and pulled up a new article from the newspaper which had just been published lately.

_**Thieves in Red strike again!**_

Reading the article, Astrid found out that the group of thieves had robbed a bank, killing two innocent people. Clicking on one of her opened windows, she dragged the news article into the window, creating a new tab. Looking at the other tabs, she saw numerous articles about the red thieves, all attacking different places. Thinking about it for a few minutes, Astrid eventually closed her computer and went to bed, the day's events tiring her.

**Hiccup's POV**

After the party had finished, Hiccup left and went up to his room. After changing into his nightclothes, he sat down at his desk and opened his computer. After surfing the Internet for a while, he stumbled upon a news article that caught his eye. Looking at it, Hiccup saw that it was about the red thieves who had broken into the castle a while ago. They were still in Berk, and Hiccup started to think that they were there for a bigger reason than just robbing people. Thinking about it for a bit, he eventually got too tired and lay in his bed, quickly falling asleep.

* * *

It had been a few days since the ball, and Hiccup hadn't seen Astrid at the booth. It was odd, since she had come almost every day in the past few weeks. He was happy, since he finally had someone who he considered to be a good friend. Shrugging off her absence, he continued on doing his work. His work, currently, was nothing.

It had gotten dark, and Hiccup had left the booth. Carrying Toothless, the cat suddenly squirmed out of his grip after passing an alley.

"Hey! Toothless! Get back here!" Hiccup whisper-yelled, since he didn't want to attract attention, and have someone see him talking to a cat. Toothless looked back at him as if to say, _what are you going to do about it?_, and started walking down the dark alley, making sure Hiccup was following. Hiccup, curious as to why Toothless was so interested in the path, followed. Toothless started to go faster, and made turns throughout the streets, leaving Hiccup to run and pant behind him. After running for about 10 minutes, Toothless suddenly stopped. Hiccup, out of breath, bent over and rested his hands against his knees. He was about to talk to the cat about not doing that again, when he heard faint voices around the corner. All traces of anger being replaced by curiosity, Hiccup quietly walked over to where he heard the voices, and peeked his head around the corner.

It was a dead end, and was surrounded by large cement buildings, creating walls around the small space. There was a small lantern in the middle, and there were people surrounding it.

Holding his breath, Hiccup's pulse quickened. He looked at the people, and saw that they were all wearing a shade of red, but their backs were turned to him, and he couldn't see their faces. Straining his ears to hear what they were discussing, he heard someone say,

"We can't keep living like this. What will they be able to do to us if they can't find us?" the voice said, sounding nervous. The question was meeted with an amused snort.

"Impossible. They have eyes everywhere, and you know that. remember what happened to that guy who tried to escape?" The man made a crunching sound with his with his mouth, and Hiccup flinched. Looking closer at the men, Hiccup suddenly realised who they were. One of the men turned around to see if there was anybody near, and Hiccup silently booked it, picking up Toothless and stuffing him in his backpack. The man who turned around brushed off the small sound he had heard to be a squirrel, and turned back to talk.

Hiccup ran so fast, he was sure his prosthetic foot would fall off. Making it all the way back to the palace without stopping, Hiccup ran up to his room, closing the door behind him. Toothless scrambled out of his bag, licking down his fur. Hiccup, in a slight daze, dropped his bag and walked over to his bed, falling down onto it. He lay there, staring up at the ceiling as his brain tried to process all of the events that had just happened.

**A follow, favourite, or review is very much appreciated, thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon or any of its characters in any way, shape, or form.**

**Chapter 7**

Still shaken from the previous night's events, Hiccup sat in his booth, mindlessly staring out at the street. After sitting there for about 20 minutes without doing anything, Hiccup saw Astrid walk past, not even sparing a glance at his stall. Snapping out of his daze, Hiccup scrambled out of his chair and over his desk, almost knocking down a glass of water on it. Stumbling over himself as he hopped over his desk, Hiccup ran over to Astrid, grabbing onto her arm as he got close enough to her. Sharply turning around and ready to slap someone, Astrid relaxed a little when she saw who it was.

"Hi… Hiccup." She said, as though she didn't particularly want to be talking to him.

"Astrid!" Hiccup replied, still slightly out of breath from his short run over to her. "I haven't seen you since the part - the part of last week which was a few days ago." He awkwardly said, "I mean, I haven't seen you in a few days." He finished, hoping she didn't notice his slip.

"Oh yeah, sorry. I've been… busy?" She explained, sounding unsure, and not sorry at all. Hiccup was slightly puzzled as to why she sounded as though she were lying, but shook it off.

"Ok, well you should come over to my booth." He suggested, turning to walk towards it, but Astrid didn't move, so he stopped.

I can't, I have to get back home. See you later." She hurriedly said, turning around and rushing away, leaving Hiccup standing there, confused as to why she was acting like that.

* * *

Hiccup sat back in his chair, thinking about what he heard the other night. He had figured out that they were the red thieves who he had heard. Were talking about their leader? Hiccup had heard them talking about a "they", but Hiccup didn't know who "they" was. Weren't they just a group of petty (not really that petty though, since they're the biggest criminals around), thieves, who just went around pillaging people for their own benefit?

It was almost time for Hiccup to leave, and not many people were walking by his stall anymore. It was a nice evening, with a pinky-red sunset. About to pack up, Hiccup saw someone walk up to his stall.

"Hi, how may I hel…" Hiccup stopped once he looked at the man who was standing in front of him. He wasn't wearing his usual clothes, but was instead dressed in dark jeans with a black leather jacket on. He had blue eyes which were almost covered by his sandy blonde hair, and an unforgettable smirk on his face. So unforgettable, in fact, that Hiccup stopped in the middle of his sentence when he saw who he was.

Shaking out his nerves, he continued. "How may I help you?" He asked, his voice slightly wavering. The man thought for a second, then replied.

"Yeah, I need a wrench. You selling one?" Hiccup stammered for a second. He didn't sell tools, but he supposed he could make an exception this time.

"Yeah, I uh… Do?" Hiccup rolled to the back of his stall, and grabbed a clean wrench off the wall. He could always buy another. Handing the wrench to the man, Hiccup figured that it would look suspicious not to ask for payment, so he asked for a little money. The man thanked him, then walked away, holding the wrench in an ice pick grip.

Hiccup watched him walk off, then stood up so quickly his chair fell over. Not bothering to pick it back up, he quickly packed his backpack and closed the stall, running after the man. Luckily, he didn't bring Toothless, so Hiccup didn't have to worry about leaving him in the booth.

Once Hiccup had gotten close enough to the man, he crept along the walls behind him, staying out of sight and not making a sound. He was led into a dark alley, the only sounds being his muffled steps and the man's heavy steps.

His heart pounding and hearing the blood run through his ears, Hiccup followed the man, until the man stopped. Ducking behind the nearest building, Hiccup watched as the man looked around him, then stepped closer to a small door which led into a warehouse. Once the man made sure he was safe, he inserted a key into the door lock, and stepped inside, locking the door behind him.

Rushing to the door, Hiccup tried the lock to make sure it was, in fact, locked. It was. Reaching into one of his pant pockets, Hiccup pulled out his lock pick set. Why did he have one on him at all times? It's better to not ask questions sometimes.

After a few minutes of trying, Hiccup finally heard the satisfying _click_ of the lock, and he opened the door. Quietly shutting it, Hiccup tried to listen for anyone near him. He heard nothing, and decided it was safe for him to look around.

Creeping through the hallways, Hiccup looked around. It was pretty dirty and run down, so Hiccup assumed that it hadn't been in use for years. He opened a few doors to see what was inside the rooms, but most of them were just empty and dark, or had some rotting boxes in them.

Hiccup was about to give up and leave, until he heard a small scuffling coming from the next turn in the hall. Slowly inching towards the noise, Hiccup peeked his head around the bend, to see one or the doors closing. Pressing himself against the wall and shuffling towards the door, he stood and waited for a minute.

Once everything seemed clear, Hiccup pressed his ear up to the door, hoping to hear something. Inside, he could hear voices and chairs moving around.

Very slowly and very carefully, Hiccup grabbed the door handle and turned, pulling it ever so slowly. He opened it just enough for one of his eyes to see through, and when he did, Hiccup wasn't too surprised.

Inside, were the Men in Red. Well, they weren't actually wearing red, they were just wearing regular clothes. But Hiccup still knew it was them. Hell, maybe there were women too, but that was besides the point. Hiccup waited for all of them to settle down, and took in a deep breath once they started talking.

He shifted his position by just a fraction of an inch, and his _cursed_ metal foot squeaked. It was also in one of the rare times that the group had stopped talking, too. And it wasn't even a small squeak. Nope, it was the mother of all hiding-place-give-away-your-spot squeaks. Instantly, many of the groups heads turned, and looked right at him.

"Hey! There's someone there!" One of them shouted, and everyone instantly bolted out of their chairs and towards Hiccup.

Hiccup scrambled away from the door and slammed it shut, then ran away as fast as he could (which wasn't very fast). He somehow managed to escape the facility and ran through the streets, until he reached one of the more busy streets.

Leaning against a building and heavily breathing, Hiccup thought about why he got involved in these things. Stupid curiosity.

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delayed update and the bad quality. I've been having a writers block for this story lately, so don't expect updates too often. I've started a new story though, so I would greatly appreciate it if you checked it out.**

**A follow, favourite, or review is very much appreciated, thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon or any of its characters in any way, shape, or form.**

**Chapter 8**

Stoick slammed his fist on the table, making some of his guards jump back a bit. They were all standing in front and around a large wooden table, with a large map of the city spread across it.

At least twenty guards stood in the room, watching as their king stood slightly hunched over the table, mumbling to himself.

"Everyone!" Stoick bellowed. "There is a big problem in Berk that I've been putting off for a while, but it has come to the point where we must do something. There is this group of thieves who have been causing trouble around the city, and we must put a stop to it immediately."

Some of the guards looked around at each other, whispering about how the King was overreacting about a petty group of thieves.

"This is serious!" Stoick yelled, and the guards immediately stopped talking and looked at him.

"This group has broken into our castle, numerous banks, and many houses. It's either we get them, or they get us!" He slammed the table again for effect. "Now, who's with me?"

The guards once again averted their eyes from him, saying things about how they were busy that week.

Stoick grumbled, listening to his men making up their excuses.

"Alright, whoever stays will have an extra three hours overtime onto their shift for the next month." Stoick informed them, and all of their hands immediately shot up, all of them agreeing to go help him.

"That's what I thought." Stoick triumphantly said, crossing his arms and nodding, smirking.

Once the guards had filed out of the room, Stoick sat down at a table where Gobber was sitting.

"Great! When do we set off?" Gobber asked.

"Not you, Gobber. You have to stay and train the new guards." Stoick replied, receiving an upset look from Gobber.

"What about Henry? You're just going to leave him alone? Not like we ever see him, though."

Stoick groaned, thinking about his son.

"Oh, what am I going to do with the boy?" He moaned, thinking.

"Put him in training with the others." Gobber suggested, as though it would be normal.

"What? You can't be serious. He'd be killed before he held the first sword." Stoick argued.

It was somewhat true, as whenever Hiccup held a sword and try to swing it, it moved in all of the wrong directions. His left hand could never hold the shield up properly, and if against a real enemy, Hiccup would be dead in a matter of seconds.

"You don't know that." Gobber argued, but Stoick remained unconvinced.

"Yes I do." Stoick stubbornly said, sticking to his resolve.

"No, you don't!" Gobber repeated. "Look, the kid always wanted to train to be a knight when he was younger, why not let him train for it now? I'll keep him safe, promise."

Stoick reluctantly nodded, giving in to Gobber's idea.

"Ok, let him train with the others. Maybe he'll learn a thing or two." Stoick stood up and left the room, leaving Gobber still sitting down, surprised that he had convinced Stoick to let Henry train.

* * *

Hiccup kicked a stray rock which was on the side of the road, frustrated at himself. He was searching for the Red Thieves again, remembering hearing a strange noise as he ran away the previous time. He hadn't thought much of it then, but it piqued his curiosity when he thought of it later.

He ran his fingers against the cool cement wall, feeling as his fingers hit all of the little ridges. He had been looking for over an hour near the thieve's hideout, not finding a single thing. Scowling, Hiccup was about to give up and go home, when he heard a small scuffling noise around the corner.

Holding his breath and creeping around the corner, Hiccup quickly ducked his head around the corner when he saw what was there.

Slowly peeking his head back around, Hiccup gasped at what he saw.

Laying on the ground was a boy of similar age to Hiccup, not moving. His hair was jet black, cut mid length. He was wearing a black leather jacket, with black jeans. On the back of his jacket though, there was a red dragon in a circle shape, covering most of his back.

Hiccup looked at the symbol, thinking that he had seen it somewhere before. Searching his brain, he suddenly remembered seeing it spray painted onto one of the hallways in the warehouse, when he was running for his life.

_So this boy is part of the band of thieves?_ Hiccup thought, still keeping a watchful eye on him.

_But then why is he alone, and seemingly hurt?_ Not being able to think of a reason, Hiccup inched closer to the boy.

Looking at him closer, Hiccup saw that the boy was lying unconscious with his back turned to Hiccup.

Hiccup leaned over to see his face more clearly, seeing his sharp facial features. The boy's ears were slightly pointed, and his mouth was slightly agape. Looking at his teeth, Hiccup could see a set of straight and sharp teeth inside, which were stunningly bright.

His eyes were closed, and Hiccup walked around to the other side of the body to see the front of him.

Once Hiccup moved to see his front, he saw that the boy had now awakened, and was watching Hiccup intently, his vivid green eyes piercing into his own.

Staring into each others eyes for a few seconds, Hiccup felt anger bubbling inside of him, making him angry. _He _was one of the thieves. _He_ had hurt people, and stole. This boy in front of him had to pay for what his group did and Hiccup would be the one to punish him.

Pulling out the small knife that Hiccup always kept hidden in his waistband under his jacket, Hiccup held the knife over his head, looking at the boy threateningly.

"I'm going to kill you, boy. I'm going to cut out your heart, and give it to my father." He raised his voice, almost yelling at the defenceless boy on the concrete ground.

Hiccup had heard his father talking about the thieves before, and how much he hated them, and had even said that he suspected them of killing his mother. Hiccup was going to show his father that he had avenged his mother, and would finally make his father proud of him.

Just before Hiccup was about to bring the blade down, he stopped. He saw the boy close his eyes and slightly roll over, defeated. The strange boy hadn't said a word this whole time, and only had made small moaning noises. Trying not to think about it, Hiccup brought the blade back up, ready to strike.

"Ok, Hiccup. Ok, you've got this." He quietly told himself, taking deep breaths. He tried to bring his arms down, but he just _couldn't_. He _couldn't_ kill this poor boy, who looked no older than Hiccup himself.

Looking at the knife in his hand, Hiccup felt disgusted with himself. He was just about to kill this boy, and even though he was one of the enemies, Hiccup couldn't harm this boy.

Stumbling back until he hit the side of the nearest building, he slid down until he was sitting on the floor, shocked at what he was just about to do.

As he was sitting there, the boy slowly got up, and crept up to Hiccup on all fours. Hiccup braced himself for the boy to hurt or even kill him for what he almost did, but when the boy was so close that Hiccup could hear his breath, the other boy just yelled at him, almost a roar. He then ran off, still on his hands and feet, though he was limping.

Shocked and dazed, Hiccup watched as the boy turned around a corner and fainted.

**A follow, favourite, or review is very much appreciated, thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon or any of its characters in any way, shape, or form.**

**Chapter 9**

Hiccup crept through the hallways of the palace, being careful to not make any noise that would draw attention to him. He went up the stairs using his hands to soften his steps, and kept moving through the hall once he was up them. He was almost at his room, and all he had to go past was a few offices. One of them; however, was his father's, and Stoick was currently at his desk. Holding his breath and slowly walking past, Hiccup was almost past the room when one of the floorboards creaked underneath him. Hiccup cursed under his breath.

Hiccup heard a sliding sound of a chair, and heavy steps on the floors. Turning back, Hiccup saw that his father was looking at him, like he had to say something.

"Son, I have something to say to you." Stoick said, looking as though he didn't really want to tell Hiccup anything.

"Ok… what?" Hiccup asked, uncomfortable.

Stoick took a breath. "I've signed you up for Guard's Training when I'm gone."

Hiccup stuttered, shocked that his father had done that, since he always told Hiccup that he wasn't fit for training.

"Ah… Well, uh… What if I don't want to take the training?" he asked, nervous.

Stoick laughed, "Of course you want to take it! You'll learn how to fend of enemies to the throne, especially those Red Thieves who have been attacking anywhere."

"But I can't attack them! Don't we need more small home repair princes around here?" Hiccup struggled with what he was going to say, knowing that he couldn't win this fight.

"Hiccup." Stoick seriously said, and Hiccup stopped his mumbling.

"You will take this training, and then you'll learn to walk like us, talk like us, think like us." Stoick gruffly said, tapping to his head. "No more of all of this." He gestured to Hiccup's general area.

"But you just gestured to all of me." Hiccup replied, annoyed.

"Deal?"

"I'm starting to think this conversation is feeling very one sided." Hiccup whined

"Deal?"

Hiccup sighed, defeated. "Deal."

* * *

Hiccup ran his hands through his hair, making it stick up with gel. He had gotten it cut the day before, making it a couple inches shorter, but not enough to make a huge difference. His hair was soon sticking somewhat upright, showing off his auburn undertones.

This way, it would be hard for anyone to recognize him when he was in training, if any of his customers happened to see him.

After throwing on a silky green tunic and some boots, Hiccup headed out of the castle and into the courtyard, where the training was being held.

Stepping into the area where the other teens were, Hiccup was suddenly glad that he had worn his hair like that, as he quickly spotted Astrid amongst them.

Making his way towards the others, he heard Gobber announce his presence once he was seen.

"Ah, there you are, Henry! I was starting to worry you wouldn't show up." Gobber cheerfully said, grinning.

"I wish he didn't." Someone grumbled, and Hiccup look over to see that it was Tuffnut, one of the two twins that Hiccup had often seen horsing around outside of his shop, with Ruffnut.

Hitting him on the back of his head yet saying nothing, Gobber gestured for everyone to follow him.

While walking, Hiccup looked at who all was in the class with him. The people he had to spend the next few weeks with.

The twins, Ruff and Tuff, Fishlegs, Astrid, and his awful excuse as a cousin, Prince Snotlout were all there, giving him annoyed looks.

Of course, Hiccup had been prepared for the other teens not to like him being there, as he didn't have any athletic skills whatsoever.

They all stepped into an arena built just for training, and Gobber lead them to a rack full of weapons, shields, and armour.

"Ok you lot! Choose a weapon, and if you'd like one, a shield and some armour." He yelled, moving away towards a storage room and unlocking the door.

Gobber stepped in the room and soon came out with a human-sized brass automaton, with padding wrapped along the outside. In one of its arms was a round shield, in the other was a dull training sword. Gobber heaved out a couple more, and set them in a row.

"Alright, these automatons are made specifically for this purpose, and have sensors in them identify people and attack. You objective is to knock them all over with your weapons, but don't break them.

He flicked on a switch in the back of each of their heads, and Hiccup could hear the gears start to whir inside the robots. Just as they started to move, Snotlout butted in, sounding nervous.

"Whoa whoa! Aren't you going to teach us first?" he said, panicked.

Gobber laughed, and the automatons were already moving.

"I believe in learning on the job."

The teens all scattered as they started to get chased by the dummies, quickly grabbing shields and weapons as they passed by them.

There were six dummies in the arena, one for each of them. Hiccup saw as Ruff and Tuff were called out by Gobber as it hit both of them in their stomachs. He heard Snotlout try and impress Astrid, heard an oomph!, the moving gears, and Gobber pulling Snotlout out of the match.

Hiccup heard Fishlegs scream, and turned his head to see him getting chased down, with Fishlegs' arms in the air as he ran away.

Hiccup looked around again to see it was only himself and Astrid left.

"So, I guess it's just you and me now." He said to her and she looked away, only to see another automaton coming towards her.

"Nope, just you." Astrid ran away, leaving Hiccup with a robot coming straight for him. Stuck in place by fear, Hiccup quickly shielded his head and saw the dull blade come striking down at him.

Closing his eyes and expecting the worst, Hiccup was greeted instead with Gobber's voice, and looked to see that Gobber had shut the dummy off, and was hauling it away from him.

Grunting, Gobber told the disappointed looking teens,

"Don't worry, you'll get another chance. And remember, in real life, these criminals here will always, always, go for the kill." He annunciated his words very clearly, looking at Hiccup as he did so.

Hiccup stood there, dazed, and wondered about the boy from the other night. He sure looked like one of the thieves, but why was he alone?

**Author's Note: Hahaha… Erm.. Sorry for the late update and the short chapter… I really have no excuses. Sadly, there will most likely not be another update on this story for the next three weeks. Those of you who also read my other story, Time Flies, that one won't have an update anytime soon either… Sorry…**

**A follow, favourite, or review is very much appreciated, thanks for reading!**


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